Review: Crysis 2 is addictive FPS fun

I'm not a big fan of first-person shooters. Don't get me wrong,
I LOVE Gears of War, Halo and the first installments of Call of
Duty.

But I'm not into "modern warfare," and I can't keep pace with
new shooters being released seemingly every other week. So, no, I
haven't had a chance to test drive EA's
Crysis 2
.

But I know someone who has — the Associated Press' Ron Harris.
Here's his review below:

The first-person shooter game that brought home PCs to their
knees with its demanding hardware specifications has a new
installment for platform play. "Crysis 2" has arrived, and it has
consumers' wallets in its cross hairs.

This remains the genre primarily consisting of running, ducking,
hiding and shooting at others doing the same. Only an engaging
plot, and perhaps some groundbreaking graphics, can strengthen a
title beyond those basics. "Crysis 2" takes aim on both fronts,
with decent results.

I played "Crysis 2" for Xbox 360 ($59.95, Xbox 360, PlayStation
3, PC). And while it doesn't break any tremendous new ground in
detailed graphics, it is a polished update for the game. It may not
be a jaw-dropping addition to the "Crysis" series, but it is one of
the best shooters available.

I played as the protagonist, Alcatraz. The locale is New York
City, following some climatic disasters that have left the Big
Apple and other cities around the globe in near ruins. Society is
crumbling, aliens are bouncing around Wall Street and camo-clad
special-ops teams have me in their sights.

Somehow, Alcatraz acquired a so-called Nanosuit that allowed me
to cloak myself in temporary invisibility and toughen my armor at
the touch of a button. Much of the plot revolves around the
technology behind the suit -- and how Alcatraz came to have it --
and you'll have to play the game to learn the threads of that
important plotline. No spoilers here.

I found the game entertaining and a bit addictive. The levels
are woven so nicely with the advancement of the plot that playing
"Crysis 2" felt like reading a Dan Brown novel. Brown is an expert
at persuading you to start the next chapter instead of putting down
his thrillers, and "Crysis 2" also leaves you wanting more at the
completion of each mission objective. I found myself in buildings,
in subways, along the waterfront, on rooftops and crawling through
the hulls of burned-out aircraft in search of sneak attacks on
soldiers and aliens all seeking to do me grievous bodily harm.

Those objectives are clear, and there are welcome audio
reminders that pop up when I bested the bad guys to remind me what
the next step was. After a hard shootout against a squad of
paramilitary types at a spacecraft crash site near a subway
station, it was easy to forget where I was supposed to go next.
"Crysis 2" guided me nicely with its pale blue dot on the minimap
representing the location to get to, while not giving away the most
optimal route.